The 2024 Paris Paralympic Opening Ceremony will take place at the Place de la Concorde with an athlete parade along part of the Champs-Élysées, marking the first Paralympic Opening Ceremony to ever occur outside of a stadium.
The Paralympics, which open Aug. 28, 2024, start two and a half weeks after the Paris Olympics end. The Olympic Opening Ceremony in Paris will also be the first held outside of a stadium, happening along the Seine River and climaxing at the Eiffel Tower.
Paralympic organizers said 65,000 people will be able to attend the Opening Ceremony: 30,000 along the Champs-Élysées parade route and 35,000 in the Place de la Concorde area.
The Place de la Concorde, a public square on the east end of the Champs-Élysées, is famous for holding public executions during the French Revolution, including of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
In sports, it is seen annually during the last stage of the Tour de France, which ends with laps on the Champs-Élysées.
The Olympics and Paralympics will hold competition at other famous venues in and around Paris. For the Paralympics, with 11 days of competition, this includes:
• The Grand Palais for wheelchair fencing and taekwondo
• The Champ de Mars Arena for judo and wheelchair rugby
• The Esplanade des Invalides for archery
• A stadium at the Eiffel Tower for blind soccer
• The Château de Versailles for equestrian
• Roland Garros for wheelchair tennis
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Illustrations via Paris 2024.
